1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to anti-skid vehicle wheel assemblies, and, more specifically, it relates to means for permitting ready installation and removal of traction means as needed or desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In connection with highway vehicles, such as cars and trucks, for example, the hazards of driving on icy or snow-covered roads are well known. Roads which are wet, icy or snow-covered reduce the traction which exists between the vehicle wheel and the road surface, thereby making it more difficult to control the vehicle and increasing the risk of potentially serious accidents. Over the years numerous approaches to improving traction under adverse driving conditions have been suggested. The use of both studded and unstudded snow tires during the winter season has been adopted. Also, the use of chains which consist of a continuous band which covers the entire tire circumferentially and is provided with a plurality of transverse, ground engaging chain members, has also been known.
Under numerous types of winter driving conditions, snow tires, without studs, may prove inadequate in respect of desired traction. While studded tires serve to improve traction, such tires tend to be damaging to road surfaces during normal driving conditions, and the use of such tires has been restricted or prohibited by law in many states.
While chains may provide effective traction under certain conditions, they are awkward to use as they generally cannot be put on without either jacking up the vehicle or requiring the user to crawl under the car and effect a precise positioning of the chain prior to locking the same on the tire. The sequence of installation must be reversed during removal of the chains.
In an effort to solve some of the problems in effecting improved traction for vehicles under adverse driving conditions, it has previously been suggested that the use of a number of discrete chain-like or other traction devices, individually placed on a tire, might solve the problem. U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,550 discloses such a construction wherein a number of individual elements each containing two chain portions are secured to the wheel rim on both the inner and outer sides of the tire. Not only does this disclosure provide a construction which would be difficult to apply and remove, but also it suggests the highly undesirable securement of the traction device to the wheel rim. It is undesirable to take any action which will alter the natural mechanics and structural integrity of the wheel rim. In addition, during the use, wheel rims are subject to damage which might, in turn, produce undesired tire deflation and destroy the traction device, as well as, possibly, making it not only difficult to apply, but if the damage occurs during use, difficult to remove. Others have also suggested securement of traction means to a wheel rim. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,020,586; 2,146,453; 2,395,013; 2,637,363 and 2,731,059.
It has also been suggested to use annular members which are secured to traction means. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,842,742; 2,474,696; 2,579,057; and 3,945,162. These constructions require the use of economically impractical and structurally bulky members.
It has also been known to provide disc-like members with radial arms with the discs being secured to the outer surface of the wheel through the lug nuts which retain the wheel in position. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,470,607; 3,130,767 and 3,190,335.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,669,274 discloses the use of a closed wire loop which is bent in a particular configuration and adapted to rest on the wheel rim. See also U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,891.
It has also been suggested that unconventional tire configurations be created so as to permit ready attachment of traction means. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,137, a transverse bore is provided radially inwardly of the ground engaging portion of the tire. An anchor for a traction element has passed through the bore. U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,341 provides molded loops within the tire sidewalls for hooking a traction member onto a tire. U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,367 provides a number of lugs which provide upwardly open channels for receipt of traction means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,069 provides inner and outer generally rectangular frame members to which traction means are secured.
Additional systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,918,504 and 3,935,891. The former patent discloses the use of inner and outer bar-like members in combination with clamping means and resilient connections. The latter system discloses substantially rigid flanges secured to disc-like members.
There remains, therefore, a very substantial need to improve the ease with which safety improving traction devices may be secured to and removed from vehicle wheels while permitting the use with conventional wheel and tire constructions and not altering detrimentally the tire design or the mechanical and structural characteristics of the wheel.